Religion

Before we know it, the stores will be boasting holiday music and holiday gift choices. Folks will be scheduling holiday parties. The air will be charged with anticipation and a degree of anxiety. I was at a local department store last week where sales were gobbled up in expectation of the season. Stow the gift with hope of remembering the storage spot was the cry!

Do you remember ads proclaiming “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk?”They were always accompanied by quick snapshots of teens who were willingly braved ridicule to prevent fatality. They dared to lose a friendship before they would participate in the loss of a friend.

I belong to a wondrous group of women who gather monthly for conversation. We describe the meeting as a book club, but it is so much more than that. Our sharing starts with comments on the designated reading, typically only one chapter at each gathering. It rarely remains there. Quickly, the chosen topics evolve into our personal life stories and wisdom emerges. Laughter fills the room. Shared sorrow is accompanied by servings of joy. Age differences melt in the heat of life’s commonality. We are one and it is lovely.

Perhaps it is the aging process that has engaged my heart. The reality of having celebrated a recent birthday that reminded me how close I am to the onset of another decade of life, God willing, may well have been another catalyst to my contemplation of presence and absence. It may have triggered my meditation on the power of NOW. Whatever the cause, the effect is lingering.

Centers for lifelong learning have popped up everywhere. Designated in a straightforward manner or ensconced in “senior centers,” opportunities to broaden and deepen one’s life experience are both available and affordable. Some offer courses without charge. Others bear a minimal fee. It appears living longer has evoked a desire to live more deeply. We really aren’t going to get into heaven in a rocking chair!

Decision-making is, at once, the most difficult and the most liberating of all human activities. Even the most forthright and determined persons feel the unique suffering involved in making a choice. We all know each “yes” we pronounce commits us to a “no” as well. Every choice has a consequence.

Very often, when we officiate at weddings, Hubby Dear will offer a short message for bride, groom, and participants. He always gains their attention with this opening remark: “Love is a four-letter word.”You can imagine the straightened backs and curious glances as folks wonder what is coming next.

It’s easy to understand the reaction to what might be considered a bizarre statement, especially one made in the context of a marriage ceremony.